1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to protective padding equipment and, more particularly, to inflated protective padding gear that can be used in conjunction with protective padding equipment routinely encountered in various contact sports.
2. Description of the Related Art
Contact sports such as football or hockey involve repeated high impact collisions between the participants with the athletes flinging their bodies around with reckless abandon. These high impact collisions quickly take their toll on the athlete's body. Broken and dislocated bones are a common occurrence. The athletes who participate in these contact sports wear protective gear which reduces the number and severity of contact injuries; however, even with the conventional protective gear far too many serious injuries still occur.
These high impact collisions involve the transfer and dissipation of a significant amount of momentum and energy. The energy of the impacts routinely cause broken and dislocated bones especially in the upper thoracic region of the body. Dislocated shoulders and broken arms are common contact sports injuries. These injuries result in a lot of pain and suffering and the athlete is forced to be inactive for a prolonged period of time. Even with all these drawbacks, contact sports are immensely popular and enjoyed by millions of people around the world.
The primary protective gear generally used in contact sports to protect the shoulder, clavicular, and scapular areas of the torso are shoulder pads which are used to absorb a portion of the impact from a collision. These high impact collisions between athletes impart a significant shock to the body and are capable of significant trauma to the body resulting in serious bodily injury, for example, a dislocated shoulder, a broken collar bone (clavicle), or a broken shoulder blade (scapula). For protective gear to do an effective job in protecting an athlete or any contact sport participant, the protective gear must absorb and dissipate a significant portion of the energy of impact; that is, the piece of protective gear must be an excellent shock absorber.
The protective gear must be capable of absorbing concentrated, highly focused energy and rapidly and uniformly dissipate that energy so that the energy does not break bones, tear tendons and ligaments, or dislocate joints. The energy of these collisions is concentrated and highly focused because in general, a specific part of one athlete's body strikes a specific part of the other athlete's body; therefore, the kinetic energy imparted by the impact is both concentrated and focused. Conventionally used protective padding is inadequate in providing the shock absorbing capacity required to prevent serious bodily harm.
Conventional shoulder pads are simply not constructed to adequately absorb the shock incurred by the body when these high impact collisions occur. Shoulder pads are constructed not only to absorb shock, but to function as body armor as well, therefore, a significant portion of a shoulder pad is rigid and incapable of absorbing shock. To minimize the number of contact injuries and to significantly reduce the severity of contact injuries, protective gear must be capable of effectively and efficiently absorbing and dissipating the impact forces of the collisions.
The prior art describes a variety of protective gear used to protect participants of contact sports from physical injury; however, none of the protective gear of the prior art provides the broad protection against injury and the high shock-absorbing capability as does the protective gear of the present invention. Accessory pads adapted for use on the exterior portions of football shoulder pads is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,657 issued on Aug. 18, 1964 to J. K. Groot. The accessory pads are easily and securely attached to the epaulets of football shoulder pads to limit the possible injuries to opposing players by serving as padded outer surfaces. The accessory pads cover the external surfaces of the epaulets without materially increasing the size or weight of the epaulets, or interfering with the free movements of the epaulets during use.
A hinged shoulder pad and the method of making the pad is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,785 issued on Jul. 11, 1989 to F. Allen. The shoulder pad comprises a unitary integral form consisting of a plurality of hingedly connected panels adapted to be interfolded into a pad. The hinged shoulder pad is made of a polyester resin and is made for use in garments such as ladies dresses or suits.
A sports protection garment for use by athletes that provides adjustable upper body protection is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,706 issued on Oct. 3, 1989 to K. E. Ketcham et al. Separately-configured, air-inflatable, multiple-chambered pads are positioned in multiple fabric compartments strategically located on a lightweight fabric garment covering an athlete's upper body. Each of the multiple chambered pads is independent and can be removed from its matching compartment for replacement or repair.
Shock absorbing body protective pads for use by athletes in contact sports is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,230 issued on Feb. 12, 1991 to E. J. Vacanti. The shock absorbing body protective pads comprise a pair of heat sealable woven scrim-reinforced plastic film members sealed together to form a plurality of cooperating and interconnected chamber elements. Each chamber element contains a foam pad constrainably retained within the chamber with the interior volume of at least two of the chamber elements being interconnected. A plurality of rigid tubular exhaust ports are arranged to communicate between the chambers and the ambient with the exhaust ports being disposed along the lateral edges of certain of the chambers and with these exhaust ports being arranged in an oppositely disposed relationship, one to another, so as to ensure continued communication with the ambient atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,602 issued on Aug. 20, 1996 to R. D. Hale describes a garment that is worn during game play that provides protection against impact forces. The garment comprises inner and outer layers of a fabric mesh with an intermediate support layer. The support layer includes a primary air channel extending along the normal seam locations of the garment with an interwoven grid of secondary air tubes being in communication with the primary air channel. Pressurized air is introduced through a valve in the primary air channel so as to inflate the air channel and connected grids.
German Patent No. 4,229,328 A1 published in March, 1994 describes a shield that is part of protective clothing for motor cycle riders that has an under layer of shock-absorbent segments and a covering layer of a pliable material with wedged-shaped grooves between the segments. The free zones between the component parts are closed when the shrouding unit is curved into a fit. The shrouding is for the protection of vulnerable parts of the body, such as the shoulders, elbows, and knees.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Although the prior art is replete with protective gear to prevent injuries or, at the least, minimize the severity of an injury in contact sports, the protective gear of the prior art has numerous shortcomings which include inadequate shock absorption and restricted mobility. There exists a genuine need for protective padding gear that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. The air cushioning device of the present invention solves the aforementioned problems of the prior art.